There I was, waiting in my world for a guide to step outside. The first thing I did, when I reached the other side, was walk. It's so easy to move forward with the breeze at your back, and the grass beneath your feet, and the sun making the sky the most inviting shade of brilliant blue. The trees parted and the ground flattened as I stood before my equal. A beautiful anachronism, so imposing and awkward in this rolling sea of green, I felt immediately akin to it. But the more I encircled it, the more I realised how desperately it fit. Its hues were soft and subtle, its stone structure had nicks and faults, as ageless and as natural as the trees that kept their distance. There had to have been a day when it had felt as I did, new-born, intruding, unwelcome. It had turned from being a flame for my defiance, to a glimmer of hope, not as bright as the initial fire, but far more enticing.